Live Jazz Concert Attendance and Review Paper

History of Jazz Music – MUSI 20900.R10 SP18-C81

Concert Attendance Paper

March 5, 2017

Live Jazz Concert Attendance and Review Paper

On Saturday, February 3, 2018 at 7:30am, I attended a live Jazz concert held at the Lorain County Community College (LCCC) Stocker Arts Center – Hoke Theatre. There were two Jazz bands performing that evening – The Lorain County All-Star Jazz Band and The LCCC Jazz Band. Earlier in the day, the Stocker Arts Center – Hoke Theatre hosted the inaugural high school Jazz Festival which included Jazz bands from numerous Lorain County high schools. The guest artist for the concert was Mike Tomaro, Director of Jazz Studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since 1997. Mike Tomaro is a saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, composer, arranger and educator as well.

The concert opened with the Lorain County All-Star Jazz Band. The members of the band included:

Saxes: Alec McNeil, Cassie Pennington, Emily Capitano, Adam Cook and Richie Olin.

Trumpets: Tiara Eddington, Nick Lawwill, Noah Douglas and Own Gannon

Trombones: Michael Carty, Noah Kitchen, Owen Cogar and David Hickman

Rhythm Section: Leo Zigmund, Piano; Jose Hernandez, Bass; Ryan Keller, Drums; James Hogan, Guitar

The Lorain County All-Star Jazz Band played three songs arranged by Mike Tomaro. They were Be Cool, What Am I Here For and Hard Bargain. Be Cool is a funky rocker with an infectious groove, hip voicings and a strong melody. What Am I Here For was the second song performed. Duke Ellington wrote “What Am I Here For” which is arranged in a medium swing style that is very relaxing. The full ensemble has a rich texture. The solos are performed by the sax section, as well as, the trombone and piano. The third song, “Hard Bargain,” was a hard-charging swing piece spiced up with a bit of half-time funk that boosts momentum from start to finish. There was two open solo sections – one for bass and one for saxes.

After a brief 15-minute intermission, the LCCC Jazz Band directed by Jeff Meyers came on stage to perform six songs. The LCCC Jazz Band is comprised of the following musicians:

Saxes: Jon Eager, John Haydn, Joe Kardos, Jeff Meyers and Greg Ring

Trumpets: Bob Dills, Noe Fernandez, Jim Lucas and David Troike

Trombones: Shawn Alcorn, William Loar, David Paine and Sue Troike

Piano: Mark Skladan

Bass: Al Szucs

Drum Set: David Lewis

Guitar: Dick Ferancy

St. Louis Blues was the first song played. St. Louis Blues was a 1914 blues song composed by W.C. Handy and arranged by John Denton. The form is unusual in that the verses are now the familiar standard twelve bar blues in common time with three lines of lyrics. The second song was Nostalgia in Times Square. Charles Mingus composed Nostalgia